KDXRIDER.NET

Hello, everyone,

I'm currently without motorcycle, but grew up in Virginia, riding very consistently on private land for about ten years. I started off on an '86 KDX-80 (I know, but you have to start somewhere). About a year later I moved (way) up to a 1989 YZ 250W (bought new in late 1988) which was, intermittently, my ride. I say "intermittently" because one of my close friends' brother had an '84 red KDX 200 which was left for months at our place and I frankly preferred riding that bike over my YZ -- which I much loved, but which generally did not suit the terrain I was riding on and which was definitely inclined to very expensively fall apart. Be careful what you wish for, indeed. To be fair, I didn't understand the level of maintenance a motocross bike necessitated, etc.

All these years later (the YZ being sold long ago), I'm now in my early forties and I'm interested in riding again. I joined this board primarily to educate myself with respect to what year and what displacement would best suit me once I'm ready to purchase and begin again as I intend to go with a KDX. Tentatively, I'd expect it may be up to a year before I purchase a bike. As such, I'll probably be more of a passive participant.

Thanks for the resource and happy riding/owning to all!

Welcome to the board. I recently started dirt riding again after a 15-year hiatus. I've been riding street bikes and mild dual-sporting since then, though. I got back into the dirt saddle with an '89 KDX200 and I couldn't be happier with it. The E-series (89-94) is a great bike but they suffer from KIPs valve problems. There's a member here named Brock from BDK Racing who's making steel KIPS valves that should fix that, though. The E-series motor is generally considered to make a bit more low-end power than the H-series (95+), but the H has a better KIPS design. Parts availability is better for the H.
The KDX220 is also a great bike. They're optimized for more low-end power than the 200 and don't make quite as much on the top. The other caveat of the 220 is that the stock piston is a faulty design and MUST be replaced with an aftermarket piston like a Wiseco.
I love my E dearly but I'd probably go with an H if I were you. More and more parts are becoming NLA for the E and the aftermarket support is also better for the H. The 220 would be a good choice if you liked the idea of more low-end at the expense of the top and as long as you were willing to do the piston or buy a bike that had already had the piston changed.

Welcome to the forums. Look on craigslist for "KDX" and see what you can find. For most areas, usually nicer ones are in the high teens. Really nice ones might command a $2,000 or slightly higher price.